Riptide Assigned AFL Quarterback and a Lineman
December 21, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
San Diego Riptide News Release
SAN DIEGO â After losing Riptide starting quarterback, Kane Claunch, to the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League during the off season, it did not take long for Coach Ponder to find a suitable replacement. Anthony Buich, last year's starting quarterback for the Grand Rapids Rampage, was assigned to San Diego today.
"He's an intelligent and tough quarterback," said Coach Ponder. "He's as good as it gets in the af2, a quality QB with tons of experience. This is a huge assignment for the Riptide."
Buich started ten games with the Rampage and played in 14 during the 2004 season. He completed 234 of 395 passes for 2594 yards and 39 touchdowns. In Week six against the Dallas Desperados, he threw for over 300 yards with no interceptions and six touchdowns. He repeated his performance two weeks later against the Indiana Firebirds, a game in which he threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Josh Bush. He was released by the Rampage on October 20.
Before moving up to the Arena Football League, he spent three years in the af2 playing for the Iowa Barnstormers, Tulsa Talons, and the Wichita Stealth. He passed for over 3000 yards in every season for a total 9454 yards and 186 touchdowns. With the Barnstormers in 2001, he held the second best passer rating and completion percentage in the league. He also ranked tenth in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and total offense that season. The following year, with the Tulsa Talons, his 116.5 passer rating and 64 touchdowns helped lead the league's best scoring offense, Tulsa Talons, to a 14-2 record. In 2003, he teamed up with Coach Sean Ponder and the Wichita Stealth and recorded his best af2 season, throwing 3454 yards, 64 touchdowns, and was only sacked nine times.
A good quarterback needs a strong line and this addition to the Riptide roster will literally leave an indentation on every lineman that faces him on the line of scrimmage. San Diego was also assigned OL/DL James Parham earlier today.
"Gary Gussman (Director of Football Operations for the Las Vegas Gladiators) referred (Parham) to me after a workout he had with them. He told me Parham would be a top af2 offensive lineman and would definitely be playing in the AFL within a year."
Parham spent two years at Texas A&M-Kingsville where he took home All-Conference First Team Honors and was selected as a Second Team All-American. Before transferring to Texas A&M, he played at San Diego's Grossmont Community College for Coach Dave Jordan where he was named the team's MVP and was an All-California First Team Offense selection.
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